About

The name “Flying Giant” was born over coffee one morning. Our company needed to be…well ours. And with that includes a sense of independence, humor and desire to never stop exploring. Thus, they finally tried pairing theirs nicknames awarded by a friend. Melanie, an Air Force veteran nicknamed Air Force, and Ryan being well over six feet tall is the Giant. And thus Flying Giant Productions was born in Brooklyn, New York.

As a small independent production company, we produce branded content, digital ad campaigns, in-house marketing assets and independently funded short documentaries. In addition to bringing projects, large and small in house, we crew larger productions as directors, directors of photography, field producers and field sound mixers, particularly in the documentary space.

We value leadership and participation in our local community and thus collaborate with local non-profits and community programs in various capacities. If you are a non-profit in need of photo or video production, please reach out to melanie@flyingginatproductions.com.

Ryan Brooks graduated with honors from William Paterson University’s fine art and photography program in 2004. He received the Puffin Foundation fine arts grant for his work in Paterson. In 2005 he joined the Peace Corps in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Since returning to the United States in 2007 he has begun a new project documenting graffiti culture. In 2011, Ryan won a prestigious position as resident travel blogger for Host Our Coast with his partner Melanie.

Melanie is a documentary director of photography, focusing on food politics and gender issues. Her most recent short documentary, Big Hips, Big Dreams featuring Tina Tassels, has screened at numerous film festivals around the county, including Big Sky Documentary Film Fest in 2018 and it was nominated for a student BAFTA. Her on-going labor of love is a food-focused documentary, Eating the Enemy, featuring sushi chef Bun Lai which is slated to be released in the Fall of 2019. She received her Bachelors in journalism from Rutgers University and a Master of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in social documentary film.